Modeling compounds such as clays and putties are widely known and have been commercially available for decades. The compounds are commonly used as play toys, creative materials, and orthopedic aids.
Common examples of putties include, for example, borosiloxane bouncing putties shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,541,851 issued to Wright and U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,997 issued to Kaiser, et al. Unlike conventional modeling clays, these compounds do not dry out or harden over time. While widely available, bouncing putties tend to have an undesirable greasy or oily tactile feel and may become permanently embedded in carpet and clothing fibers if left unattended. In addition, within minutes after molding bouncing putties into a desired shape, the compounds will flow or collapse downwardly like viscous fluids. This characteristic renders bouncing putties unacceptable for educational or creative uses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,766 issued to Mariano discloses a non-oil based modeling dough resistant to flaking and cracking. However, a bounceable compound is not adequately obtained without reducing the shelf-life of the dough.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,498 issued to Ahrabi discloses a plastic modeling compound comprising a significant portion of guar gum to provide an elastic, moldable compound suitable for utilization as a novelty item.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,068 issued to Shapero, et al., sets forth a safe non-toxic play material including, among other ingredients, guar gum, providing a play material exhibiting an improved tactile feel.
While the aforementioned inventions all exhibit some desirable qualities of modeling compounds and novelty toys, such as the ability to bounce or retain shape, flexibility, pliability, etc., it is highly desirable to provide a modeling compound exhibiting all of these characteristics and more. In particular, it is also imperative to provide a non-toxic modeling compound due to the inherent risk of chewing or consumption of such compounds by young children.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved non-toxic modeling compound that is highly malleable and pliable.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible, stretchable non-hardening modeling compound having the ability to retain a formed shape.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a non-greasy modeling compound having a unique tactile feel that will not become embedded into carpet, furniture and clothing.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method for the manufacture of a modeling compound which does not require heating or baking.